Display of rugs and carpets, particularly oriental and Persian rugs, on walls or the like has become popular as such textiles are increasingly recognized not only for their utilitarian function but also as pieces of art. These rugs and carpets tend to be large pieces, often measuring, 5 ft. by 7 ft. or larger, and consequently have considerable weight.
Curtain rods and holders have been long known for suspending fabrics and cloth to cover windows and the like. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,884,414 issued to Vroom; U.S. Pat. No. 551,124 issued to Krah; U.S. Pat. No. 606,442 issued to Bullis; and U.S. Pat. No. 597,551 issued to Atkins. Generally, curtain or drapery material is considerably lighter in weight than carpets and rugs, and generally, holes or specially constructed pleats are made in the material so that rings or hooks can be inserted and then attached to rods.
Other clamping or holding devices for supporting objects such as flexible sheets, charts, blueprints, placards and the like are also known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,622,300 issued to Marziani (hanger for blueprints); U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,075 issued to Hutten (mounting strip for flexible sheet material); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,322 issued to Gary (chart holder). Such suspending devices are geared to hanging objects that are substantially light in weight and are not suitable for hanging a rug or carpet.
The hanging of rugs and carpets is a formidable task because of their considerable weight and because as art pieces, owners have generally not relished making holes in the carpets in order to hang them. Often times, to avoid making holes in the carpets, loops of material are attached to an edge and then slid onto a rod secured to a wall at the appropriate height. Such additions, of course, tend to detract from the carpet piece. Moreover, because of the substantial weight of the carpets, problems have arisen with the rod for holding the carpet. The rod must have substantial rigidity to hold the rug without bending with its weight.
Thus, a problem, largely unattended in the art, is the lack of a simple, inexpensive way to hang rugs and carpets without damaging the pieces and in which the rugs and carpets are firmly yet releasably gripped.